Tag: Troy Davis

The world looked on in horror Wednesday night as death row inmate Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection at the state prison near Jackson, Georgia. The state-sanctioned murder was the final grisly episode in a judicial travesty that spanned more than two decades. It stands as a damning indictment of the entire political system and a shameful episode in the history of the United States. Davis issued a written statement before his execution, which read: “The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me.”

Tomorrow Kagame will appear as one of Bill Clinton’s featured speakers in a plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual gathering of the global elite. At the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton presented Kagame with a Global Citizenship Award.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay of execution, and Troy Davis was murdered by the state of Georgia on Wednesday at 11:08 p.m. Eastern Time. Here are Troy’s words relayed earlier in the day: “The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came before me and all the ones who will come after me. I’m in good spirits and I’m prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I’ve taken my last breath. Georgia is prepared to snuff out the life of an innocent man.”

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole refused to grant clemency to Troy, but we can’t give up — or Troy will be murdered on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET! Right now, call the Board at (404) 656-5651 to ask that they reconsider, and sign three new petitions to District Attorney Larry Chisolm, who can withdraw his death warrant (links are at the top of the story) and call the DA at (912) 652-7308. Please do it now. The power of the people can save and free Troy Davis!

Yesterday, the NAACP and other organizations supporting freedom for Troy Davis delivered more than 660,000 petition signatures to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles in support of halting Troy's execution and granting him clemency. Watch the new video from the NAACP, plus a new video from Jasiri X, 'I am Troy Davis.' Read a letter from Troy Davis and another from California death row prisoner Kevin Cooper, a message from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and, most important, how you can help stop the execution of Troy Davis, set for Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Angela Davis writes: “I urgently appeal to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal and to the members of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to spare the life of Troy Davis, a young African American citizen of your state. I hope everyone within sight or sound of my words or my voice will likewise urgently call and fax Gov. Neal and the members of the board.” Stand strong on the Global Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis this Friday, Sept. 16, 4-6 p.m., Federal Building, 1301 Clay St., near 12th Street BART, Oakland. Five hundred events will be held around the world.

“I just think my mother died of a broken heart, but she made sure we were strong enough to deal with this,” said Martina Correia, Troy Davis' sister. “It’s not just the inmate who is on Death Row. That whole family is on Death Row.”

In a letter to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, former death row inmates who have been exonerated ask that the execution of Troy Davis be halted due to serious doubts about his guilt.

I am writing to ask you to help fight for Troy’s life. Troy Davis is on death row for the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail in Savannah, Ga. Troy has always maintained his innocence, and there was never any physical evidence linking him to the crime.

I am pleased to stand with my colleagues today who are outraged at Nobel Peace Laureate President Obama’s decision to wage war on Africa in Libya. At the outset, let me state that Libya is home to tens of thousands of foreign students and guest workers. The students come from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. The messages I have received from concerned Africans state that these young, innocent people, inaccurately labeled by the U.S. press as “Black mercenaries,” have been trapped in hostile territory and are hated by the U.S.-allied Al Qaeda insurgents.

“This system treats us like throw-away people,” says Carolyn Brown, a Seattle volunteer with prison reform group Justice Works! An African American with a record, her effort to find a job is deeply frustrating due to systemic racism.

An international defense campaign for both the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal and for the elimination of the death penalty in the United States has grown since the early 1980s. On Nov. 9, 2010, when a critical hearing is scheduled in the case of Mumia, protests will be held around the world.

On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal and granted the Philadelphia DA’s petition for a writ of certiorari. We are now at the highest level of Code Red in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal. The people must come to this tireless souljah’s defense.

“Now here we are again with the clock winding down,” warned the Amnesty spokesperson. “We are serious when we say that we need everyone to support Troy Davis on May 19th by organizing their own event or awareness-raising activity.

Be sure to listen to the archived Wanda's Picks Radio for Feb. 11, when the guests are Cynthia McKinney in the first hour and Guy Patrice Lumumba and Lisa F. Jackson, director of the film, "The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo," in the second. Extraordinary radio! Superb mix of arts and politics!

"Slavery became a haven for the death penalty. In Virginia, before the end of slavery, there was only one crime for which a white person could be executed. But there were 66 crimes for which a slave could be executed.” – Sis. Angela Davis, 2003

Today we had an exclusive interview with Troy Anthony Davis' sister Martina Correia, who has been standing for justice for her brother for 19 long years. Troy Davis is scheduled once again for execution Monday, Oct. 27, by the state of Georgia if a stay is not granted.